From Without And From Within (The Auroville Project)

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Abstract

The alternative community Auroville was founded 1968 in Southeast India by French philosopher Mira Alfas (aka ‘the Mother’). [The Auroville Project] looks at how the utopian ideals of the community – no private property, no money, no rules, no religion – in short: divine anarchy, are lived today, almost 50 years later. It investigates, how relationships between humans and nature, an ecological and sustainable lifestyle, spirituality and political ideals of self-development and collectivism can be re-imagined today.Auroville is a social experiment dedicated to continuous education and research on human nature (the search of the inner being) that thrives for human unity through a state of higher consciousness. As one of the few alternative communes born in the 1960ies it does not only still exist, but is actually growing and thriving. Nevertheless the goal of building a city of 50,000 inhabitants in the form of a galactic spiral is far from being achieved after 50 years. The exhibition aims to create an immersive installation comprised of videos, photos, sculptures, archive materials and artifacts, living plants (grown from seeds collected in Auroville), and a group exhibition within the exhibition titled “Re-imagining utopia”, that investigates the potential of utopian ideals in the near future.Re-imagining UtopiaIn 2018, Auroville will be celebrating its 50th anniversary. Although Auroville has a rich tradition of experimental architecture, and although Aurovilians keep emphasizing the importance of creative expression, it is still almost devoid of public or contemporary art. This spring, we organized a workshop with students at the Umeå Academy of Fine Arts to dream up possible interventions and proposals for public artworks in Auroville. Additionally, we asked artist friends to contribute works to the Re-imagining Utopia show as part of The Auroville Project, that reflect on the idea of a utopian community in the 21st century.With works by: Carolina Andreasson, Jessica Bjöhrn, Andrew Burton, August Bällgren, Christoph Draeger, Martin Ebner & Ariane Müller, Charlotte Hedberg, Swetlana Heger, Heidrun Holzfeind, Elka Krajewska & Gregor Neuerer, Tryggve Lundberg, Gazi Mrah, Klaus Weber und Olav Westphalen